Bracks Solar Farm in East Cambridgeshire to power 8,000 homes
A solar farm in East Cambridgeshire is now operating at 100 per cent capacity and is providing enough clean energy to supply 8,000 UK households a year.
The 30MWp Bracks Solar Farm, two miles east of Wicken, has been officially opened by pension fund Railpen and energy company BayWa r.e. UK.
Anna Rule, head of real assets at Railpen, said: “As the world navigates the challenges of climate change, the urgency to transition towards cleaner energy sources has becomes more apparent than ever.
“We recognise the dual purpose of investing in projects such as the Bracks Solar Farm. First, by investing funds into wind, solar, biomass and battery storage projects, we’re actively participating in the UK’s green energy transition. Second, investing in UK property and infrastructure is driven by our belief that real estate is an enabler of economic growth. Pension funds, like the railways pension schemes, see the opportunity to support the UK’s green transition as one which not only supports the financial goals of the scheme, but has far-reaching benefits to the UK economy, communities, and the world around us.”
John Milligan, MD at BayWa r.e. UK, said: “Solar farms are essential to achieve the UK's goal of net-zero carbon by 2050 and ensure homes and businesses can be powered by clean, renewable, and domestically generated energy. The successful commercial operation of Bracks Solar Farm is testament to the hard work put in by our team. With a development pipeline of 2GW across solar, wind and storage projects, we are looking forward to delivering more projects over the coming years.”
Among the guests attending was Dr Nik Johnson, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, who said: “The costs of the climate emergency will be many times worse in the future if we do not rapidly accelerate our transition to renewable energy. As mayor I’m proud of the Combined Authority’s work enabling the transport, skills, housing and other infrastructure needed for a net zero carbon future and am hugely encouraged to see this solar farm now working at full capacity.”
Across renewable energy sites, Railpen now supports the energy supply to more than 200,000 UK homes.
